[from the last page] We affirm the findings of the OPPAGA that “many studies have established that sex offenders who maintain stable employment, housing and family relationships have significantly lower recidivism rates” as well as the numerous studies which conclude that SORRs undermine successful reentry of returning citizens, while doing nothing to promote public safety. For that reason, we make the following recommendations: 1) Legislation should be enacted that would pre-empt the patchwork of county and city SORR ordinances in favor of the State’s SORR Statute (F.S. §775.215). 2) Counties…
Read MoreTag: Florida
FL: Wakulla County to pay $160,000 to settle lawsuit with City Walk Urban Mission
[wtxl.com – 9/22/20] WAKULLA COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — A federal court in Tallahassee has ruled that City Walk Urban Mission can again operate in Wakulla County and can open up three other transition homes within the county. Tuesday, the court approved a settlement between the organization and the county. The county agreed to settle the case for $160,000. In addition to the $160,000 Wakulla County agreed to pay to settle, the county also agreed to allow City Walk to establish up to three other transition homes in the county. City…
Read MoreFAC: WI: Homeless person required to register as a sex offender killed
[floridaactioncommittee.org – 9/17/20] A 54 year old person required to register as a sex offender was found dead with “suspicious head injuries” according to the Madison Wisconsin Police, A local alderman is calling for the closure of these “homeless encampments”, but fails to recognize that persons forced to register are generally not allowed in most shelters, are subject to restrictions on housing and are chronically unemployed or unemployed because of the stigma of being registered. Homeless encampments are their only option. Read the full article
Read MoreAction Alert: UPDATED 8/29 Wellington, FL council looking to pass new rules for vacation rentals and those on the registry
[floridaactioncommittee.org – Action Alert – 8/24/20] 8/28/20 UPDATE: Wellington approves rules for vacation rentals Wellington, Florida is considering creating a rule that would require vacation rental owners to check to see if potential renters are on the sex offender registry. The meeting is scheduled for tomorrow [August 25] and will be held by Zoom. The Responsible Party for all Vacation Rental properties is required to conduct a nationwide search to confirm that the prospective Transient Occupant(s) is/are not a registered sexual offender or sexual predator as a result of…
Read MoreFL: Get the Facts: Did a Florida Senate 9 candidate defend a sex offender?
[wesh.com – 8/7/20 – Smear alert] SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. —One of the Democratic contenders in the State Senate District 9 race covering Seminole and part of Volusia counties is the target of a negative mailer that claims she defended a sex offender. “I do not believe any of this nonsense. It’s just trash,” Patricia Sigman said. Democratic candidate Patricia Sigman is furious about the new attack mailer. It blasts the attorney for “defending a sexual predator” calling it “indefensible.” The flyer, however, is misleading. Former Osceola County deputy Chad Lakey…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: County Commissioner Seeks A New Kind of Registry in Florida
The County Commissioner in Brevard County, Florida has put this rather odd item on next week’s County Commission agenda. County Commissioner John Tobias is apparently not satisfied with the current state residency statute for those convicted of certain sexual offenses. The existing 1,000 ft. restriction of registrants from schools, daycares and playgrounds doesn’t seem to be “safe enough” for him. The Commissioner has proposed an ordinance that would also restrict registrants from certain businesses, an “expansion of the buffer zone” if you will. Those businesses that are willing, can “voluntarily”…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: City Walk-Urban Mission Wins Preliminary Injunction
A few months ago, I wrote about a small organization called City Walk-Urban Mission in Tallahassee, Florida. The ministry was started in 2012 by Anthony and Renee Miller, it’s purpose, a faith-based, voluntary, re-entry type program to offer homeless men and ex-offenders a hand up, a chance to get back on their feet. The program accepts registrants. The original piece was written back in May 2020. At that time City Walk had run into some nasty problems with county officials who seemed bent on closing them down. Certain neighbors of…
Read MoreFL: Shaming alert: Jackson County’s sex offender notification changes
[wjhg.com – 7/14/20] JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. (PRESS RELEASE) – Effective immediately, all sex offenders moving into Jackson County will have their picture, address, offender status, and certain information regarding their crime(s) posted on the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page. Sexual predators moving into the area, as well as those relocating within the county, will also be posted. This measure is not for punitive purposes, but to better insure the safety of our most vulnerable citizens. Read the full article
Read MoreFL: Dalton and Tomich Secures Injunction against Wakulla County, FL on behalf of City Walk – Urban Mission
[daltontomich.com – 7/10/20] Written by Emily on July 10, 2020 Category: Firm News, Land Use and Zoning, RLUIPA, RLUIPA Cases Court order allows City Walk to continue transition home ministry in Wakulla County. A federal court in Tallahassee has entered a preliminary injunction against Wakulla County, Florida, protecting the religious exercise of Dalton & Tomich client City Walk – Urban Mission. The order comes just two months after we filed suit under the Religious Land Use & Institutionalized Persons Act—a federal law that protects the land use rights of religious…
Read MoreFL: Cyberstalking injunction obtained by Sen. Lauren Book overturned by appeals court
[sun-sentinel.com – 6/24/20] TALLAHASSEE — Citing First Amendment rights, an appeals court Wednesday overturned an injunction that state Sen. Lauren Book obtained because of alleged cyberstalking and harassment by an activist who opposes laws dealing with sex-offender registries. The full 4th District Court of Appeal, in an 8-3 ruling, said a Broward County circuit judge improperly granted an injunction that, in part, was designed to prevent Derek Warren Logue from having contact with Book and from publishing any statement threatening her. Book, who was sexually abused as a child by…
Read MoreFL: Divided Florida Court Revokes Sex Offender’s Probation After Bizarre Feud With Neighbors
[law.com – 7/17/20] A peculiar dispute between two South Florida neighbors came before the Fourth District Court of Appeal on Wednesday when it found that a registered sex offender’s three-year “campaign of harassment” against the couple next door violated his probation and warranted a prison sentence. Read the full article (must sign up)
Read MoreFL: Tampa Bay Times Nixes Mugshot Gallery
[newsmax.com – 6/16/20] The Tampa Bay Times will stop publishing its online mugshot gallery, which features people who have been arrested in the newspaper’s coverage area. The Times made the announcement on Monday. “The galleries lack context and further negative stereotypes,” said Tampa Bay Times Executive Editor Mark Katches. “We think the data is an important resource that our newsroom will continue to analyze and watch carefully, but the galleries alone serve little journalistic purpose.” Katches added that the newspaper will still publish individual mugshots with stories when arrests have been…
Read MoreFL: CrimeNews Ocala sex offender arrested for failing to update license
[ocala-news.com – 6/8/20] An Ocala sex offender who recently got out of prison was arrested after he failed to update his driver’s license information within 48 hours of registering his new address. .. On May 26, ___ reported to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and updated his registration after being released from the Department of Corrections and said he would be living at 10685 W. Hwy. 326 in Ocala. He was reminded of the registration requirements, which include reporting to a Division of Motor Vehicles office within 48 hours to…
Read MoreFL: Ruling allows Tampa man to avoid sex offender registration until he pays $10K fine
[tampabay.com – 6/9/20] A Tampa man who spent 12 years in prison for molesting two young girls at a community pool does not have to register as a sexual offender until he pays a $10,000 fine, two Florida courts have ruled. A judge in the Hillsborough Circuit Court and a panel of three judges in Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal in April said ___ has not been released from the sanctions imposed in 2004, and he does not fit the definition of a sexual offender until the fine is…
Read MoreFL: Ocala sex offender jailed after registering a day late
[ocala-news.com – 6/4/20] An Ocala man was arrested Monday after he showed up a day late to update his registration as a sex offender. Shaun David Killie, 33, of 4055 NW 63rd St., was supposed to re-register during the month of May. He was reminded when he updated his vehicle information in December 2019 and again in February, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office report. Killie reported Monday to the sheriff’s office sexual offender unit and completed a late registration for May 2020. He had no excuse for not…
Read MoreKat’s Blog: Wakulla County, Florida Discrimination Case
This news out of Florida is one of those David and Goliath type lawsuits, the little guy against the giant. City Walk Urban Mission in Wakulla County, Crawfordville, Florida, a small faith-based ministry whose motto is “every saint has a past, every sinner has a future” has come under fire by some of the town’s folk and law enforcement. Since 2013, this tiny non-profit ministry has worked to help rehabilitate ex-offenders, provided food and shelter, assistance in procuring employment and for some, reconnection with their families. The ministry’s address, a…
Read MoreFL: Court: Miami jail can’t be forced to give inmates soap, tests during coronavirus outbreak
[miamiherald.com – 5/5/20] A federal appeals court has blocked, for now, a judge’s order forcing Miami-Dade County to give masks, soap and cleaning supplies to inmates at a jail wracked by the novel coronavirus. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday said that Miami District Court Judge Kathleen Williams overstepped the law when she ruled that inmates at the Metro West Detention Center must get the supplies — and also be tested for COVID-19, as well as people who have been in contact with them. “To avoid contempt,…
Read MoreFL: Broward jail inmate with coronavirus dies at hospital
[sun-sentinel.co – 4/8/20] A convicted sex offender became the first Broward County inmate to die from the new coronavirus, underscoring concern over how the pandemic will pose problems for detention facilities across South Florida. Alan Pollock, 64, died at Northwest Medical Center in Margate on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Broward Public Defender’s Office, which represented him. Broward County’s jails have had at least five inmates test positive for the coronavirus, which has been spreading in detention centers across the U.S. Nationwide, the disease has infected hundreds of detainees as…
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